


love is mean and love hurts

by demiwitch_of_mischief



Series: I will love you till the end of time [1]
Category: American Horror Story, American Horror Story: Murder House
Genre: Angst, Between Ben/Hayden, F/M, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fluff, Gay Violet, Gen, Ghosts, Horror, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Murder, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Possessive Behavior, Possessive Tate Langdon, Possible Smut?, References to Drugs, Romance, Self-Harm, Sister-Sister Relationship, Teen Pregnancy, This is AHS, possible Leah/Violet
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-24
Updated: 2019-12-11
Packaged: 2020-05-19 05:44:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19350679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demiwitch_of_mischief/pseuds/demiwitch_of_mischief
Summary: Hoping for a new start, Rose Harmon and her family move into the Murder house after her father cheats on her mother with his student. As they get settled into the house, and their new lives, strange things start to happen in their new home. First a strange blonde haired boy seems taken with Rose and while she can't deny the connection the two share, there's something off about Tate. Trusting her gut instincts Rose tries to stay away from him but she can't help but be drawn to Tate and the darkness in him that calls to her like a beacon. Second thing, there's something weird about the house her family moved in, like the strange dreams she keeps having about a figure with a painted skull face who wields a gun.~~~"The Devil is real. And he's not a little red man with horns and a tail. He can be beautiful. Because he's a fallen angel, and he used to be God's favorite."





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> faceclaim: Zoey Deutch or Bridget Satterlee

Rose rolled the window down where she sat the backseat and a small smile grew on her full lips as she felt the sun shine on her face, warming her. The wind blew her wavy hair around in a mess of brown strands, occasionally brushing against her face. It'd been awhile since she felt so serene and a small spark of hope glimmered in her brown eyes as she thought about what the possibilities of what this move could do for her and her family after everything that happened within the last year.

After her mom's miscarriage and her dad's affair just moths later Rose's family had been in disarray from grief, pain and the hurt that was caused by both major events. Losing her unborn brother and then her dad's affair within a span of a year had caused Rose to grow resentful of her family. Her mom was grieving to really pay attention to her two daughters and her dad was to busy fucking his student to notice them either. She knew they were both in pain from losing their son but it still hurt to have her parents blow her off multiple times. 

Her younger sister Violet had started to drift away from her and slowly closed herself off from Rose, staying in her room all day and only coming out to eat dinner and go to school. Rose understood she was hurting to from everything going on with their parents, but it still caused a pang of resentfulness to fester in her heart that her sister was shutting her out too. 

But this move would hopefully help her family heal and maybe they could finally start over. Rose ignored the voice telling her they'd never be able to heal the wounds and move on. She had to believe it would get better or she'd go crazy from trying to fix her already broken family. 

"The light is different out here. It's softer." Her mom Vivien observed from the passenger seat, turning to look at them in the front seat with a warm smile. Rose pretended to look at her long red acrylic nails as if they were the most interesting things she'd ever seen. She ignored the brief flash of hurt that flowed through her mom's eyes with a pang of guilt. As much as she loved her mom she was to tired to deal with false lies about how great this new move was going to be for them all and pretend they were okay, and not slowly falling apart at the seams. 

"It's called smog." Violet told her.

"You should be excited, Vi." Her dad Ben grinned at Violet through the rear-view mirror, "You can stop sneaking cigarettes and just start taking deep breaths."

Rose grinned at the comment and hid back a laugh as Violet gave him a sarcastic smile. It was a well known fact that Violet was a borderline chain smoker. Her parents had given up on trying to hide or throw away Violet's cigarette's as she just went and bought more the next day. Rose had no room to judge, having smoked her fair share of cigarette's too. She had never been caught by her parents but Rose knew that they knew she smoked too. She was just better at hiding it then her sister.

"I need to go to the bathroom." Violet spoke up, whipping her sunglasses off with a frown.

"We're almost there." Ben told her, pulling into a different lane on the freeway. Rose glanced over at her annoyed looking sister and frowned at the angry look in her brown eyes, similar to both her and their mom's brown irises as well as their late grandmothers. She had died almost two years ago from an illness that Rose still didn't know to this day. Her parents had never said why and Rose had just never bothered to pry and get answers. 

"I need to go." Violet gave him a stubborn look and frowned harder.

"Vi, it's a freeway. Really. Where do you want me to pull over?" Her dad gestured to the car next to them with a chuckle, "Maybe the Honda next to us has a bathroom or something."

"Bet if baby substitute had to shit, you'd find somewhere." Violet snapped at him in annoyance. 

"Really, Violet? I hate that word unless I'm saying it." Her mom gave Violet a disapproving look even as a smile tugged at her lips.

"You know, I'm really glad we named you Violet instead of our second choice." Ben told her, a grin tugging at his lips too as her mom glanced up at him.

"Which was?" Violet asked with a raised eyebrow, hands folded across her chest. 

Rose picked up the water bottle from in her cup holder–admiring the way her red nails contrasted with the clear liquid as she took a drink and choked at her mother's next words, coughing as the water went down the wrong pipe. A small grin tugged at her lips that she hid behind her bottled water at her sister's sarcastic smile and laugh.

"Sunshine."

Ben chuckled in amusement at the glare Violet shot his way, "It's funny. Come on. You gotta admit it's funny."

 

* * *

Rose looked around the house in interest as she walked a little further back behind her dad and sister, her mom and the realtor Marcy taking the front. The house was old and had a that old movie star vintage vibe that she loved. It looked like a house that Audrey Hepburn or even Elizabeth Taylor might have lived in once. 

“It’s a classic LA Victorian, built around 1920 by the doctor to the stars of the time.” Marcy, the realtor, ranted to her parents as they walked down the long and spacious hallway of the house. “It’s just fabulous. These are real Tiffany fixtures. As you can see, the previous owners really loved this place like a child. They restored everything.”

“Gay?” Her mother asked curiously, turning her head to look into rooms and at the pictures and glass on the walls.

“What do you think?” Marcy replied with a sly grin at her mother. 

Rose frowned at her before shaking her head and glanced a look at Violet who was scowling at the realtor. Rose raised an eyebrow at her in question, but when Violet shook her head, she decided to ask her later. Her sister was so secretive lately and it hurt, especially when they used to be so closed and would tell each other everything. The last two years had been hard on their family and Violet seemed to be the most effected by it. She really wanted to help her sister but it was so hard to get Violet to open up to her anymore.

“Cooking lessons.  _Romantic_.” Marcy said with a false smile as she emphasized the last word.

Her mom put Hallie, her dog, down to explore. Hallie immediately headed out of the room to get a feel of the new and foreign surroundings. Rose followed after the dog, both hoping to get away from her dad and the annoying realtor. And she wanted to explore the house too without her parents hovering with the realtor in the background. She felt bad as she left, leaving Violet with them but she needed to get out. It felt suffocating in there. Her anxiety would have gotten worse if she stayed in there even a moment longer.

She barely managed to look around before Hallie began yapping at something. Rolling her eyes in exasperation at the dog Rose walked over to where the small thing stood, barking incessantly at a door in front of her. Rose came to an abrupt stop in front of a door that Hallie started barking at. Confused, she leaned down and picked her up hoping to calm down the dog. Which sorta worked as Hallie stopped barking but she continued to growl at the door threateningly. 

Rose hesitantly looked at the door before she turned the doorknob and opened the door.

The room was pitch black and a set of wooden steps led to the dark basement. Walking down the steps that she now knew lead to the basement, Rose couldn’t help the chill that ran down her back as she felt like someone was watching her and the odd vibe she was getting. It wasn't a malicious feeling–but it definitely wasn't a good feeling either. Hallie didn’t help to calm her down as the dog still continued to growl at something that only she could sense. And it only got worse as Rose stepped down the old creaky steps and further into the basement.

Rose came to a stop at the bottom of the steps and before she could react–Hallie had sunk her claws into her arm, scrambling to get out of her arms with a loud growl at something in front of her. Letting out a pained yelp, Rose quickly let her go and stood in shock as Hallie raced up the steps and out the basement door. 

Standing in shock at the sudden and unexpected behavior of her mom's dog, Rose glanced around the cold and dark basement wearily. Whatever had caused Hallie to act weird was somewhere in here. If that didn't send chills down her spine than the chilly air that suddenly surrounded her certainly did. 

"What the fuck, Hallie?" Rose exclaimed to both herself and the dog, checking to see if she left any marks on her arm. She touched her arm where Hallie had scratched her and she felt uneasy as she lifted her fingers to see blood with the barely there light provided from the open door at the top of the stairs, her once porcelain now covered in small scratch marks and welts that dripped little droplets of blood.

She was confused as to why Hallie had acted like that. Hallie was a trained dog-mostly for comfort for her mother-and had never acted violently,  _ever_. Glancing around the dark basement again, Rose couldn't help but feel uneasiness settle firmly in her gut and felt her skin crawl the longer she stood there in the eerie room. 

Rose was startled out of her thoughts as she heard a crash somewhere further in the basement and she jumped frightfully. Feeling scared–not that she would ever tell anyone that–she quickly left the darkness of the basement, feeling some of the uneasiness leave her body the further she got away from it and up the steps toward her family.

Rose was unaware of the dark eyes that watched her leave in amusement and interest, their eyes turning a darker shade as they watched her walk up the steps. 

Her mom about freaked when she saw the blood and scratch marks, asking her if she was going to be okay and if she wanted to go to the hospital. Saying a resolute _no thanks mom_  and asking Marcy where the bandages were.

After getting a reply from the realtor her mom led her up the stairs quickly after telling her that Violet liked the house and wanted to move in, telling the realtor they would take it. Rose bit her lip and almost told her mom about the unsettling feeling she got from the basement but decided to keep quiet as her mom cleaned her arm up. Whatever happened down there was probably a fluke and jitters about moving to a new surrounding, right? 

Right. Everything would be fine and there was nothing wrong with the house. 

 

* * *

After the movers had finally finished putting her stuff in her room, Rose went about unpacking and organizing her new room. Her room was down the hall from her parents and right across from Violet’s. Rose got the second biggest room after arguing with her sister for it, who gave in reluctantly after awhile. She really only wanted it because it had the second largest closet in the house next to the master bedroom's where her parents where staying.

The CD’s and books were put on her wooden bookshelf. Rose’s notebooks had already been put away on the top of her bookshelf along with her pencil boxes and other supplies. Her converse and doc martens and other shoes had been neatly put away in the bottom of her closet. Most of her stuff had already been put away or was still in boxes waiting to be opened.

Her mom had checked in earlier to tell her that they were having dinner and she'd taken a break to eat downstairs. Just thinking about the deep dish pizza she had eaten made her mouth water. Unlike the rest of the LA population–and every other place really–Rose didn't really care about watching what she ate. She probably should, but caring required a lot of effort and she was usually to tired to give a shit. 

And it wasn't like she was overweight or anything. Rose stood at 5'8'' and was almost taller then her mother who was also at 5'8''. Rose was definitely taller then Violet though, her sister being 5'4''. It used to bother Rose being taller then most girls her age but she got over it the older she got.

Besides, who was Rose going to impress? The friends she didn't have? The boyfriend she also didn't have? It was a sad fact but it was hard for her to make friends with her social awkwardness–her father had her and Violet go to a therapist when they both started to become more and more antisocial–and her quietness. She wasn't mute by any means, but she wasn't really talkative either, rather she liked to listen and would offer her advice to her mom and Violet–back when they used to be thick as thieves. That didn't mean she wasn't afraid to speak her mind either.

Anyways, at the moment Rose had her iPod playing Lana Del Rey's greatest hits as she folded her clothes and put them away–occasionally hanging her shirts, sweaters, dresses and outer wear (jackets/cardigans/hoodies/ect) in her closet so they wouldn’t get wrinkled. She honestly didn't think she owned so many clothes until she was putting them all away. She'd been at it for almost a half hour and she still had two decently sized boxes and a suitcase full of clothes left. Plus her large box of shoes that sat in a corner practically taunting her with it's size.

Letting out a sigh and turning her music up a couple of volume's Rose grabbed a hanger and a random shirt from the box in front of her. She paused when she pulled a shirt out of the box sitting in her desk chair. It was one she’s never seen before. It was black and said  _Normal People Scare Me_  in white lettering across the front. Her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion as she tried to place if she had bought this and just forgot about it or if it was given to her by a relative like aunt Jo.

Shrugging uncaringly, Rose put it on a hanger and walked toward her closet to hang it up. She was going to keep it as it was something she would wear anyway. Turning back to the box in front of her she continued to hang her clothing with an absent mind, letting Lana's soothing voice croon around her. 

 

* * *

Tate watched the girl, Rose, in interest as she moved around her new room, which was once his room. He was laying on her bed with his head resting on his hand and just watching her. She was pretty, with long brown hair in natural curls, doe brown eyes and fair skin with natural rosy cheeks. Her mouth seemed to be in a permanent pout when she wasn’t smiling-which he noticed she rarely did-and when she did smile, it was breathtaking. It helped that she had an hour glass figure and was easy on the eyes.

A natural beauty his mother would say with a look of jealousy in her eyes. Fucking bitch. He wasn't going to let any thoughts of her ruin his mood. This was about him and the brunette standing in front of him. 

He watched as she pulled his shirt out of a box he had intentionally put in there to test her. He had to know how hard or easy it would be to manipulate her. How easy she'd slip into his grasp. If she'd see through him and the house for what it really was. 

Rose just shrugged it off and put it on a hanger and in her closet, not even seeming to question it's sudden appearance. A smile slid onto his lips at her uncaring attitude. She seemed like the type to just shrug things off and ignore it no matter how weird things got. 

She suddenly bent down to grab a cropped sweater that had fallen on the floor and he groaned at the sight of her round ass pointed in his direction. She had such a nice and curvy body that it made his pants tighten. There were other things he liked about her besides her body though–no matter how beautiful it was.

He liked her smile too. The first time he saw her smile was when she was talking to one of the movers who had told her joke to ease the awkwardness as he moved her stuff into her room. It wasn’t even a funny joke in his opinion–she didn’t seem to find it amusing either as she had only smiled awkwardly in politeness. 

Tate noticed she seemed to also avoid any personal contact with anyone, including her own family. Rose had shied away from a hug her father had tried to give her earlier today, much to Tate's own amusement as he watched the doctor face turn into a frown. She didn’t seem to have a problem with her mother or sister though, letting her mother rest a hand on her shoulder as they first walked through the house.

The moment he had saw her coming into the basement, the light behind her making her glow like some kind of angelic being, he knew he had to have her. Tate's dead heart had skipped a beat when he first laid eyes on Rose Harmon. It was enthralling and so was she. Even when he was alive he had never felt this way about anything or anybody. This hunger for somebody.

If that wasn't reason enough to go through with his plan, then the look in her pretty brown eyes had sealed the deal for him.

There was a look in her eyes that Tate knew all too well. It was one he saw every time he looked in a mirror. It was full of rage, pain and darkness. Her brown eyes were blazing when she had looked at her family, a look full of hate and so much pain he almost felt like he could feel it just from looking at her. 

There was a  _darkness_  to her–one she hid behind a quiet and sweet persona. While the darkness was small and contained, it was  _there_  and that’s what mattered to him. She reminded him of a much younger and more sweet version of himself 

A part of Tate wanted to corrupt the goodness that was left in her until all that’s left was darkness like him. But another part, a bigger part, saw that good in her and thought she could be his salvation, his second chance at being truly  _good_. His redemption and second chance to be a good person. To have light in his dark world.  

As he watched her move about their room–he liked the sound of that– he saw her let out a triumph sound as she looked around the now clean room and started to move and stack the now empty boxes. As Rose bent over to pick up the last few boxes and move them into a corner of the room Tate got another good look at her soft, round ass.

Tate came to an instantaneous decision.

Rose Harmon was going to be his light in a shitty world full of darkness. He wanted her and he would have her, no matter how long it would take. Or whether she wanted him or not. Besides, he had a plan in store for her. He was going to go for the mother with said plan, but Rose would be better suited for these plans. And it would be a good way for him to tie her to him forever. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the theory is that the house or the devil or whatever possessed Tate into rapping Vivien and being the father of Michael, are beloved Antichrist, but I thought it was always weird how he seemed to know what he did to her and in one episode he literally told Nora he would give her a child–implying that he was going to have sex with a human and give her said child afterwards so...yeah :/  
> Anyways that plot won't be happening here because I have plans for Rose and her child who may or may not be Michael idk yet.  
> [This used to be called ''isn't it lovely all alone?" but I changed it, the summary and added more to the first chapter]


	2. Chapter 2

Rose looked around the classroom in confusion, her brows scrunching together as she took in her unfamiliar surroundings. She was sitting in a classroom she had never seen before, surrounded by students she'd never seen before too. The girl next to her was wearing clothes similar to something a teen from the 90s would wear, her lips painted a deep red and wearing all black.

Turning away from the girl, she glanced at the teacher who stood in the front talking about mathematics. The woman didn't look familiar to her either, her dirty blonde hair pulled in a side ponytail, the long dress she wore and her black framed glasses looking like something out of a 90s movie that she would have watched with her mom. Rose felt puzzled as she awkwardly looked around the room and at the students. 

There was something off about them and the whole setting. It felt eerie, like when you would watch a horror movie and you knew something bad was going to happen but you couldn't do anything but yell at the screen for the hero to run before the bad guy got them. That thought added to the unnerving feeling she got from the scene in front of her. 

The door suddenly opened and everyone looked over in unison, the teacher stopped speaking to look over too her mouth twisting in dismay at the irruption. Rose stared at the intruder as her gut screamed at her to run as soon as she laid eyes on the figure. It was a boy standing in the doorway with his face covered in skull face paint, a long black trench coat cloaked around him like armor. It wasn't any of that threw her off and made her petrified. 

It wasn't even the gun he held in his hands that made her frightened. It was the cold and empty look in his black eyes that made her clam up and freeze in dawning horror as she realized what the boy planned on doing with said gun and the classroom full of students.

"Can I help you?" The teacher asked, her eyes directed at his face paint and oblivious to the gun he had. "Can I help you?" She repeated again when he stared at her blankly. Rose wanted to yell at her to run or to just scream in general but it was like her mouth was glued closed and she couldn't open it. The woman gave him an annoyed look, her eyes narrowing in suspicion, "Excuse me but are you even in this class?" 

As if on cue the boy held up his gun and pointed in at her face, he barely even flinched when he pulled the trigger and she fell to the floor dead. After that it was chaos as scared students stood up and tried to take cover somewhere as the skull faced figure began to shoot at whoever came into his line of eye sight. Students, kids her own age, dropped around her like flies and she let out a horrified scream as she saw a boy her age meet her horrified eyes. He was choking on blood and seemed to be trying to say something to her but she couldn't make it out. After a moment she understood what he was trying to say. 

_Run._

She stood up from the desk she sat at so harshly the desk shook and the chair almost fell. Rose walked backwards as her eyes locked with the shooter who stepped over the corpses and towards her with that same cold and dead look in his eyes, her back hitting the wall behind her and she realized she had nowhere to go as he stopped in front of her, the gun pointed at her now, and trapping her between him and the wall.

Rose gulped harshly as she realized she had nowhere to go, the figure had trapped her with nowhere to run. Terrified all she could do was cry and let out whimpers at the cold press of the gun being pressed to her forehead. Before she could plead and beg for her life, the trigger was pulled and she let out a blood curling scream as everything went dark. 

When Rose awoke it was to her mom's arms wrapped around her as she thrashed violently on her bed and screamed, tears rolling down her cheeks. She made eye contact with her sister who stood in the doorway behind her dad, Violet's brown eyes wide as she stared at her, the both of them staring at her in alarm as she cried. 

"It's okay, sweetie. It's okay. I'm here now." Her mom whispered in her hair, running a hand up and down her back soothingly, "It's okay. It was all just a bad dream honey. It's not real." 

"It felt so real." Rose sobbed into her mom's shoulder, hiding there in shame at having woke her family up with her nightmare. She hadn't had a nightmare–at least not one this bad–in over a year. And not one that had felt so real in a very long time. Rose used to get them so bad when she was little, screaming and crying in her sleep as her parents tried to calm her down and wake her up from the nightmare's that plagued her. 

"I know. But it was all just a nightmare, okay? None of it was real." Her mom squeezed her tighter as a sense of comfort like when she was nine and she had a bad dream. "Mom's here now. I'll keep the bad guys away."  

Rose curled further into her mom's embrace as she tried to calm down and swallow the sobs that threatened to escape. She had never felt like a little girl again then she did with her mom's arms wrapped around her and her dad slowly making his way to the bed as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and squeezed softly, offering his support, "You promise?" 

"I promise." Her mom promised, brushing the sweaty strands of her from her face and meeting her husband's eyes with crestfallen look as her daughter cried, "I promise. Nothing bad will ever happen to you on my watch." 

 

* * *

Vivien sighed as she stared down at her now sleeping daughter, brushing her hair out of her face. Rose had exhausted herself and immanently fallen asleep in her arms after crying, refusing to talk about what had happened in her sleep. Vivien wanted to pry and ask her but felt it was better to just let it go and let her oldest sleep before she had to wake in a few hours for school.

She had been scared when she first heard Rose's screams and her first thought had been someone broke in and hurt her child. She had rushed up the stairs quickly and met Ben in front of Rose's bedroom, his face as alarmed as hers. They might still be having compilations in there marriage, but they still loved their girls and would do anything to protect them. 

Which is why she didn't even hesitate to open the bedroom door without checking to make sure there was no intruders in there waiting for the rest of the family to attack. There was no one in the room but her daughter who thrashed violently on her bed and screamed as if in pain. Vivien's heart broke at the sight of her daughter's tears and rushed to her side, gently waking her up from the nightmare and holding her as she sobbed in her arms shaking like a leaf. 

Rose hadn't had a nightmare this bad since she was fifteen and her grandmother had passed away at the hospital. That had been chaotic, Rose having nightmare's for weeks after the death and then it suddenly stopped, Rose not having a nightmare since now. She was almost seventeen and it seemed the nightmare's might be coming back. Vivien hoped, prayed, that this was a one off and was only caused by the stress of the move and her first day of school tomorrow. 

"Is she going to be okay?" A voice asked softly and she glanced over to see her youngest daughter hovering in the doorway nervously glancing at Rose's sleeping form. Vivien raised a hand and waved her over, Violet coming over slowly as if scared she would accidentally wake her sister with one wrong move from a creaky floorboard.  

"Yeah," She gave Violet a tired smile, "Your sister's strong. She'll be okay."

Violet big her lip and glanced from her sister's sleeping face to her, "It's just...she hasn't had a nightmare like that in years."

"It's probably just the move that caused it." She told her, standing up and putting a hand on Violet's shoulder, leading her out so they could leave Rose alone to sleep. "Come on. Your sister's needs her sleep and so do you. You both have school tomorrow." 

Violet let out a sarcastic yay as they walked out, walking to her own bedroom across the hall. Vivien paused to look at her sleeping daughter one last time and smiled softly at the peaceful look on Rose's face before closing the door behind her and walking to her bedroom where a sleeping Ben was and quietly laid down next to him. She pulled the cover over her and turned on her side to sleep. 

She had been about to drift off when she felt Ben move and wrap an arm around her, sleepily asking, "Is Rose okay?" Vivien stiffened but forced herself to relax before it caused another argument between them. One was enough for the night and she was to tired to fight right now. 

"Yeah. She's asleep now. It was just a nightmare."

"Hm," He let out a sleepy hum before asking her carefully, almost cautiously, "Should I set her up an appointment just in case?"

Vivien closed her eyes and thought it over, thinking about when Rose was a little girl and the nightmare's were even worse. How her poor baby had to see a therapist every week for years before the nightmare's finally stopped. All the meds they had her on and little Rose not being able to swallow the pills hole so she had to cut them in half so that she could actually swallow them. 

"No." She didn't mean for it to come out as harsh as it did and she changed her voice so it was softer, firmer, "No. She'll be fine. Rose doesn't need to take anything right now."

"Okay."

Exhaustion won out and she suddenly fell asleep, knowing that her daughters were okay and with Ben's arm wrapped around her waist. She dreamt about her life before the miscarriage, the affair, the constant fighting and then their move here. A small spark of hope built in her chest and she hoped her family would be okay and that this move would work and they could start over.

 

* * *

Rose glanced around the courtyard after school waiting for Violet to show up so they could walk home together. The moody blonde haired girl was nowhere to be seen so far and she accepted that her sister was probably running late and she would have to wait a little longer. Letting out a sigh she dug around for her phone in her leather jacket pocket, pulling it to send a text to her mom that she and Violet might be a little late but not to worry. She added that they might stop for a smoothie or coffee on the way home too. 

Just as she slipped her phone in her pocket after her mom sent an okay and to be careful she saw her sister heading her way with a cigarette resting in between her pursed lips. Rose wished she could smoke at the moment but she had left her pack at home this morning, her sleep induced mind forgetting to pack her smokes and her cherry chapstick unfortunately. She hope her loving sister would be ever so kind to lend her one before they got home.

Hefting her backpack over her shoulder she walked over to meet her sister halfway but before she could her sister had been stopped by a group of three girls all wearing designer clothes and all looking the same with their straight hair and dark eyeliner. It didn't take a genius to figure out they were the mean girls of this school. 

Feeling a burst of weariness she walked a little faster until she could make out their conversation, and a frown grew on her face at the defensive state her sister stood in and the girls towering over her shorter sister in their high heels, sneers and hostile looks on their pretty faces.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" One of the girls hissed at Violet, her blue eyes darkening at the sight of Violet putting her cigarette under her shoe. Rose figured she was the lead bitch and was leader of their little posse by the way the two other girls flanked her back. "People sit here. They eat here."

"You don't know me. Why are you doing this?" Violet asked defensive, looking confused as to why the girl was being so rude towards her when she didn't even know her.

Rose was a foot behind her sister but none of the girls acknowledged her presence in favor of looking at Violet like she was prey. The look made her won hackles rise and she jumped in to defend her sister, "What's going on?" 

All four girls jumped and turned their heads in her direction. Rose enjoyed the look in their eyes as they realized she was defiantly taller then them and older too, a panicked look entering one of the girls eyes before she cleared her throat and pointedly looked her in the eyes, "Leah's grandmother died of lung cancer. She takes this stuff pretty seriously." 

"That's really sad and all but it's not my problem and neither is it my sister's." Rose narrowed her eyes at them and stood a little straighter to make it seem like she was taller than what she really was. Her black booties adding a few inches and making her taller. When they didn't say anything she nodded and grabbed her frowning sister by the arm and began to lead her away, "Come on Vi. Let's go home." 

Before they could take a few steps the girl–Leah, she remembered–was grabbing Violet by her other arm and yanking her back with a glare holding her burnt out cigarette angrily and spat out, "Eat it. Eat it or I'm gonna kick the shit out of you and your fucking sister." 

What the fuck? Rose thought in bewilderment eyeing the girl and the cigarette in alarm, is she fucking serious right now? 

"No." Violet told her trying and failing to get out of the girls manicured grip, Rose's own grip loosened and fell off of her sister her arm laying limp at her side as she looked between the girls and her sister nervously, whatever confidence she had earlier gone now.

"Come on, Leah." One of the girls let out a nervous laugh, looking surprised by the outcome as much as Rose was. "That's enough."

"No, no, no." Leah shook her head stubbornly and grinned in malice, her white teeth glinting dangerously, "I want to see her eat it." She reached behind the back of Violet's head and grabbed there to pull her face closer to the cigarette she tried to push into her mouth, "Yes! Eat it!"

Rose had to practically pry the girls hands off of her sister as Violet struggled to get away from the other girls steel like grip and even then she barley managed. She had no idea what this girls problem was but she seriously needed to chill the fuck out right now. Rose wasn't a naturally violent person but if this Leah girl hurt her baby sister than shit was about to be going down.

"Leah, seriously, she's, like, 12." The girls friends said as she watched them struggle to get Leah away from Violet.

Violet quickly spit in Leah's face and the girl let go quickly to wipe the spit out of her eyes and she cried out in disgust. Rose took it as a distraction to grab Violet and run like hell as her sister grinned in amusement as Leah screamed after them in anger, her voice threatening and promising hell to pay, "You are dead! You are dead!"

 

* * *

Rose pulled the shower curtain back as she wrapped the fluffy towel around her and grabbed another to dry off her hair. The steam from her hot shower billowed out around the room and had fogged the mirror in front of her, making everything look blurry. After the day she had she really needed that shower and was glad she got to the bathroom before Violet did, her sister would spend 30 minutes to an hour in there doing whatever it is she did. 

After drying the ends of her hair she lifted the towel to the mirror and wiped it down so she could see herself better in it. She needed to see her hair so she could blow dry it and add her after conditioner in her hair to make sure it was healthy and smooth. 

Just as she plugged in her dryer she glanced in the mirror and froze as soon as she saw the boy standing behind in her the doorway of the bathroom, leaning against it and his arms folded and admiring look on his handsome face as he looked at her. He caught her eyes in the mirror and smiled a cheekily, his dimples poking through. 

Under any other circumstances she would have been flattered but considering she was naked under the towel that didn't really hide her whole body she was unamused and frankly scared. She had no idea how this boy got in her bathroom or her house. She was about to scream since she knew her dad was downstairs when it hit her that this boy might be one of her dad's patients. Or maybe he really was just random boy who broke into her house to perv on her. It made her cheeks heat up either way the longer they stood there staring at each other.

Still it was better safe then sorry and so she asked a little confused and mostly demanding, "How'd you get in here?"

He just smiled wider at her question and she narrowed her eyes at him, crossing her arms across her chest unknowingly making her breasts peek out of the top of the towel. His dark brown eyes darted there for a moment and lingered before looking back at her and smiled, "I'm Tate." He offered up instead. 

"That's nice but it doesn't answer how you got in here." Rose motioned to the room with a wave of her hand, her acrylic red nails glinting in the bathroom light. She looked him over and took note of his shaggy dirty blonde hair, stripped sweater, ripped jeans and black converse and had to bite on her bottom lip to keep herself from doing something stupid as she unconsciously squirmed under his heated gaze. 

"This is the part where you tell me your name." The boy named Tate told her, holding up a hand like a gentleman. 

She bit her lip nervously before offering her hand–making sure her other hand held at her towel–and gave polite albeit forced smile, "I'm Rose."

"Rose," Tate said more to himself and gave her a boyish smile, "That's a really pretty name." 

"If you mean by old fashioned then yeah, I guess it is." She blurted out nervously when he still held her hand and seemed keen on not letting go. "My mom likes roses so she named me after them."

"Really?" 

"Um, no." She let out a nervous laugh, and glanced behind the boy at the still opened bathroom door anxiously waiting for her mom or, worse, her dad to walk by and see her alone in the bathroom with a strange boy and their only daughter wearing only a towel to cover herself. Her mom would freak and her dad would probably murder someone, most likely the boy. "So how did you get in here?" 

Tate finally let go of her hand and leaned against the door again, staring at her unnervingly and she swallowed averting her eyes under his intense stare, "I was looking for the bathroom."

There was something about him that drew her in though and she glanced back up and met his eyes again, the intense look in his orbs was warmer now. Friendlier almost. He had an aura that made it hard to look away from him for long. She felt shy around him, her inner introvert begging her to leave the conversation and hide somewhere far, far away from him. 

"Well, you found it." Rose said brushing her now slowly drying hair out of her face, "Are you a patient of my dad's?"

"Yeah," Tate answered after a brief pause and hummed, "I just finished up with him but I had to use the bathroom and he said it was okay for me to use his." 

Nodding, she tugged her towel up a little higher when she felt it slip a little, "There's a bathroom downstairs that you can use." Rose motioned him out and when he didn't move she gave him a tight smile, "Do you need help finding it? I can call my dad up to help you."

"No. It's fine. I'm sure I can find it myself." Tate shook his head and offered her another lingering smile, "It was nice to meet you, Rose."

"You too, Tate." She watched him leave and once she was sure he was gone, she quickly closed and locked the door. Resting her head against the cold door, her cheeks felt hot at the thought of the boy and his intense and unwavering stare. Rose had never had a boy look at her like that before, like she was his only focus. It kind of felt...nice. 

Nope. Not going there. No fucking way. Her dad would get pissed if he knew they talked let alone if he found out she might like one of his patients. Rose couldn't help it though as she pulled her underwear on and quickly slipped on a tank top over her sleeping short shorts, her thoughts on Tate. Something about him called to her like a beacon. She didn't understand it, not really, but being in his presence felt relieving if not refreshing from being surrounded by her family constantly. 

As she laid in bed and drifted off to sleep she dreamed about nothing and for once she felt relief at that. Glad it wasn't a nightmare tonight, just a dreamless sleep. She could have sworn though that someone was sitting on her bed and caressing her face as she slept but chalked it up to her mom coming to check up on her to make sure she wasn't having any nightmare's. She leaned into the hand and sleepily murmured to her mom as she closed her eyes, "Love you."

The hand stilled and she frowned, about to open her eyes when she the hand stroked her face softly, lulling her into a deep sleep, and whispered, "Love you too."


End file.
